Hey Guys Going to attempt installing the Ricambi overlay for the AC unit. Seems pretty easy, I have searched it online and only found Ricambi's link for install. Any hints to making things go easier would be greatly appreciated & what's the best cleaner to get sticky off face. Carb cleaner, goof off, acetone??? TIA
Pretty sure the Ricambi writeup is the one I did a few years back, edited for size: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/550-hvac-reface-procedure.430191/
Awesome write up! What would you recommend to clean off gunk after removing old inlay without damaging anything. Goof-off, carb cleaner etc?
I tried that and it was not a succes. You could clearly see it was a sticker and not OEM. So I scanned the print (lines, numbers and symbols), sanded the unit, painted it in the correct shade of silver (in my case; '94 456) and silk-screen printed the lining on. Looked absolutely perfect, until the first time I ran the car at night. The lights shine through the paint and not, as per original, only through the lines/print. It was a failure! So I am now trying again, different plan. I've sanded the unit again and will try to apply the lines/symbols as a paper sticker. Then paint the unit in thick black (to block any light), remove the stickers, fill the voids left by the stickers with clearcoat, sand it flat, paint in silver, and silk-screen print the lining back in the exact same position as the sticker was in. Hope this works.
The reason the light is blocked properly on these units (and shines through the lettering) is not because it is painted black. It has a printed layer of silvering sandwiched below the visually apparent fascia (yes, on the 355, 456, and 550 overlays), which correctly blocks the light. Silvering is what blocks light, not 'black' color.
Indeed! The unit itself is clear plastic. Apparently they used some metallic layer printed under the topcoat to block the light which my silver paint alone didn't do. For me, it's not possible to print metallic layers so I try with black paint and clearcoat. Actually the symbols are really delicate and too fine to print and the only way it came out perfectly was by digital silkscreening. Probably the metallic layer is what starts bubbling with age (and heat?)?
Once is sticks, it is STUCK. The adhesive is no joke. I would suggest spraying the panel face with a light mist of soap and water mixed. It will allow you to slide the overlay a bit to line up perfectly. Then squeegee the water out toward the knobs holes. It will dry out after a few hours and the overlay will be lined up perfectly.
